


Strange Families

by Katyakora



Series: Coldwestallen Week [5]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Domestic, ColdWestAllen Week, Dad!Mick, F/M, Fluff, Multi, Teen!Iris, Teen!Len, kid!Jax, kid!Lisa, teen!Barry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-19
Updated: 2016-11-19
Packaged: 2018-08-31 19:28:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8590747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katyakora/pseuds/Katyakora
Summary: Mick knew going in that suddenly becoming a parent to a teenager was going to a challenge, especially one with Leonard's past. His partner's kids certainly weren't making it easy.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Coldwestallen Week Day 5: Highschool/College AU
> 
> Not really a highschool au, but I made the trio teenagers so close enough.
> 
> Follows on from Don't Be A Stranger, which you may want to read for context. And like that story, this is entirely in Mick's POV.

Mick opened the door without bothering to knock and immediately regretted this decision. To be fair, he’d known exactly who was in the room and assumed that the worst thing he might find was the pair playing videogames when they were supposed to be studying for a chemistry test. Instead he discovered this assumption to be very wrong, as evidenced by the two shirtless teenagers scrambling to put as much distance between each other as possible, Barry blushing to his navel and Leonard looking like he was bracing himself for an explosion. They just stared at each other for a long moment, Mick’s mind completely blank as to how to deal with this situation. He elected to go with his initial mission.

 

“Dinner’s ready in five,” he grunted and left, closing the door behind him. 

 

Downstairs, he walked up behind his girlfriend (soon to be fiance if their date night next week went according to plan), and wrapped his arms around her. Caitlin hummed happily and leaned back into his embrace but didn’t cease tapping away at her laptop. Mick thought about what he’d walked in on upstairs and contemplated putting the situation firmly in Caitlin’s lap. Leonard was her nephew, after all, and Mick technically held no responsibility over him beyond the fact that the boy lived in his house, regardless of the fact that Mick had every intention of suggesting legally adopting both Leonard and Lisa should Caitlin say yes next week. But he also thought of the look on Leonard’s face when Mick had walked in, and he highly doubted Leonard would appreciate Mick sharing what he’d seen, even if it was just to his aunt. Mick sighed and kissed the top of Caitlin’s head, accepting that he had to handle this and praying fervently that he didn’t fuck it up.

 

“Dinner’s in five, Doll. Gonna need the table,” he told her, leaving her to clear away her things so Jax and Lisa could set the table.

 

Dinner was as awkward as it could be with a pair of excitable seven-year-olds dominating the conversation. Barry was suddenly incapable of looking Mick in the eye and Leonard was unusually somber and quiet, and not even Lisa’s enthusiastic description of her ice skating lesson could draw him out. When Mick asked the older boys to help with the dishes before he dropped Barry home, Len trudged to the kitchen like he was about to face the firing squad.

 

“So,” Mick began as he scrubbed a pot intently. “How long has this been going on?” 

 

“Uh,” Barry stuttered, almost dropping the plate he was drying. Lucky for him, Leonard answered for both of them.

 

“It hasn’t,” he stated sharply, stiff with tension as he eyed Mick warily. Mick raised his eyebrows at him.

 

“Oh? So today was… the first time?”

 

“Yes, sir.” Len’s clipped response made Mick wince. Despite knowing and trusting Mick, Leonard’s experiences with his father gave him certain expectations. Calling Mick ‘sir’ was a sure sign that Len expected to be punished and was subconsciously attempting to lessen his father-figure’s ire in the hope of minimising the damage. That kind of learned behaviour was one of the reasons Mick had every intention of never letting Lewis Snart get within shouting distance of his kids.

 

“Well,” Mick said slowly, passing the clean pot over to be dried. “In that case, I’m sorry I interrupted.” Both boys stared at him with matching stunned expressions. “If you want, I can put a lock on your door later so this doesn’t happen again. Somehow I doubt you want Lisa or Jax barging in.”

 

At his casual acceptance, Barry visibly slumped in relief, but Len kept looking at him like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

 

“That’s it?” he asked incredulously, almost demanding. Mick frowned at him.

 

“I trust you two to be smart about this.” He turned to face them, propping a hip against the bench and crossing his arms with an expectant look. “I’m assuming neither of you need the talk?”

 

“No! No.”

 

“Definitely not, once is more than enough!”

 

“Good,” Mick chuckled. “And I'm assuming this is something you’d prefer I kept to myself?” That got twin enthusiastic nods. Mick pursed his lips and looked at Leonard. “I don't like keeping things from your aunt, but I will if it's important to you,” he told him solemnly. Leonard seemed torn at that, so Mick soldiered on. “I know it won't change how she feels about you Len, but I also know she'll understand you wanting to keep quiet 'til you're ready.” Mick's eyes flicked up to Barry. “And I want you both to know that, no matter what, this house will  _ always  _ be a safe place for you. Got it?”

 

Barry nodded with a sunny smile. Leonard was giving Mick a stunned look and, not for the first time, Mick really wanted to punch Lewis in the balls for ever making his kid think he wasn't worth loving.

 

“You can tell Aunt Cait, if you want,” Leonard finally said, voice very quiet but growing. “Would hate to be the reason if she says no next week.” He gave Mick a knowing look, finally regaining some of his usual cockiness.

 

“You...how did you know?” Mick demanded, incredulous.

 

“Found the ring,” Leonard answered simply with a smirk.

 

“What the hell were you doing in my shed?”

 

“Looking for glue. Barry broke Iris’s-” Leonard cut off at Barry's panicked look. Mick's eyes narrowed but he didn't press. 

 

“Okay then.” Mick had planned on sitting Leonard down and asking later in the week, but he figured he might as well bite the bullet now. “So...you’re okay with it then? Me...marrying your aunt?”

 

“'Course,” Len stated easily, before teasing, “Then again, her last boyfriend threw me into a coffee table, so my bar's pretty low.” He shrugged, becoming serious. “We trust you Mick.”

 

The 'we’ of that statement was what choked Mick up the most. 'We’ wasn't just Len, it was Lisa too, and after everything those two had been through, knowing they trusted him care for and protect both them and the only good parental figure they'd ever had was almost enough to make him tear up.

 

“Alright then,” Mick croaked, “Why don't you two go finish your studying. Barry, I’ll take you home in an hour.”

 

Both boys gratefully accepted the dismissal, leaving Mick to finish the dishes while smiling like a fool.

 

Honestly, with all the excitement that came after Caitlin said yes, Mick might have forgotten about the fact that Leonard and Barry were secretly seeing each other. Well, not so much forgot than that he didn't really think about it. After all, Barry hanging out at their house after school was completely normal, as was getting a text from Len letting them know he was spending the afternoon at the West house. And where you found Barry, you were likely to find Iris, so her presence at their house was just as common. So Mick didn't really notice until much later that, at least half the time Len and Barry disappeared into Len’s room, Iris was with them.

 

Mick could easily have been forgiven for assuming that, when Leonard asked to borrow his car for the dance, that his date would be Barry. Especially when Len easily accepted the caveat of Mick driving him to the West house and home afterwards so Len wouldn't try to push his luck and stay out all night. 

 

Mick assumed Barry had broken the news to Joe at some point, so he wasn't really looking at Joe when Barry came down the stairs and took Len’s hand with a smile. If he had, he would have seen his partner frowning in confusion. Instead, Mick dutifully took a photo since his fiance had demanded as many as he could take since she was the one staying home with the young ones tonight. Barry and Len both looked great, their respective red and blue dress shirts complementing each other nicely.

 

And then Iris appeared at the top of the stairs, looking absolutely beautiful in a deep purple dress that seemed to float as she moved. Mick snapped a picture, recalling the little pigtailed toddler she once was and feeling a little misty-eyed, not at envying how Joe must feel. Mick was wondering why she hadn't waited for her own date to arrive, when she reached the bottom of the stairs and took both boys’ hands. He caught the moment through the camera lens, all three of their happy, nervous smiles in high definition.

 

“Huh,” Mick found himself grunting as understanding dawned. He glanced to his left, catching Joe’s perplexed expression twisting into protective horror as the boys each kissed Iris’s cheek as they told her how beautiful she was.

 

“Hold on!” Joe’s shout broke through the moment. “What the hell is this?”

 

The three teenagers looked confused, both Iris and Len turning to Barry.

 

“I thought you said you told him?” Iris asked.

 

“I did tell him!” Barry insisted.

 

“You told me the three of you were gonna go as a group,” Joe said.

 

“I said we were going together.”

 

“I didn't think you meant ‘Together’ together!”

 

“Joe, it's not a big deal,” Len tried, but Joe was already too steamed.

 

“Not a big deal?” he echoed incredulously. Mick took one look at the way Barry was cringing, the way Len had begun to hunch into his shoulders, and knew he had to intervene before Joe said something they would all regret.

 

“Joe,” he said, bracing a hand on his partner’s shoulder. “It’s not. A big. Deal,” he bit out, hoping that Joe would understand.

 

“The hell it is, that's my baby girl!”

 

“I'm not a baby anymore, Dad!” Iris insisted, standing in front of her dates like a shield.

 

“If Iris wants to go to the dance with Len AND Barry, then she's gonna go to the dance with Len and Barry,” Mick stated firmly, earning himself a look if betrayal from his old friend. 

 

Mick tossed Len his keys. “Go. Have fun,” he barked. “And be back by eleven thirty if you want to keep your license!”

 

The door banged loudly following the trio’s exit and Mick had to physically put himself between Joe and the door to keep him from following.

 

“You need to calm down, Joe.”

 

“How the hell am I supposed to calm down?” Joe demanded, rounding on his friend. “Did you know about this?”

 

“I knew about Len and Barry,” he admitted. “Not Iris.”

 

“The boys have been seeing each other?” Joe's surprise momentarily overshadowed his anger. “Why didn't you say anything?” 

 

“Cause they asked me not to.” Mick took the break in Joe's temper as an opportunity to steer him over to the couch. “Only reason I knew was because I caught them kissing one time.” Joe barely took a nudge to sit heavily in his favourite armchair.

 

“So if you knew they were together, how are you not upset about...this?” Joe asked a little helplessly as Mick took his own seat.

 

Mick sighed. “Because now that I think about it, there's never really been a 'Len and Barry’ without Iris. Weird as it might sound, this...feels like the natural progression.”

 

Joe snorted bitterly. “Easy for you to say. It ain't your daughter.”

 

“No, but it is my boy,” Mick reminded him sharply. “And yours, too. And I got a little girl and I’m dreading the day that I'm gonna have to stand there and let some punk I don't know take her out to do god knows what, so I’ve got an inkling of how you might be feeling right now. But Joe,” he implored, “it’s Len and Barry. You know them, you know they’d rather die than let anything happen to her.”

 

“I know, Mick,” Joe acquiesced, grabbing the open beer bottle on the coffee table and taking a swig. “But they still teenage boys.”

 

“Yeah, but they got us. I like to think I’ve taught Lenny a thing or two about how to respect a lady. And I know you know Iris has Barry wrapped around her little finger.”

 

“I know,” Joe repeated tiredly, his friend’s calm logic draining away his irrational anger. “But, come on Mick, you know what people are gonna say.”

 

“Yeah, and that feisty little girl with her daddy’s temper will have no problem setting them straight,” Mick countered easily. “I know you want to protect her, Joe, but she’s getting to that age where she’s gonna want to start protecting herself. If anything, I’m glad she’s got Barry and Len to back her up.”

 

“People are still gonna think it’s weird, gonna assume it’s something that it’s not.”

 

“She’s strong, Joe, she can handle it. Barry too. After everything, this is probably one of the kindest things he’ll be considered strange for.”

 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Joe mourned, before shooting Mick a mock glare. “Since when are you the rational, sensible one in this partnership?”

 

“It’s only fair I let you take a break now and then,” Mick responded with a smirk, recalling all the times his partner had kept him from doing something stupid that would get him fired. “Besides, if I didn’t, you’d probably start breaking things, and your tv is bigger than mine.”

 

Joe chuckled, and Mick let himself relax, proud that he’d managed to defuse the situation. They settled in to watch the game, and before they knew it, 11:30 rolled around and the front door opened to admit three nervous looking teenagers. Joe didn’t speak, he just got up and walked over, pulling his daughter into a big hug.

 

“I’m sorry if I ruined your night, sweetheart,” he murmured into her hair.

 

“You didn’t, Dad,” she assured him. Joe looked up at the two boys who were trying to be as unobtrusive as possible while standing in the middle of a hallway. 

 

“You boys, too. I’m sorry, I just...got a shock.”

 

“We’re sorry, sir,” Len apologised, finally looking up from where his eyes had been locked on the floor.

 

“You got nothing to be sorry for,” Joe assured him, before his gaze turned stern. “But y’all gotta know there’s gonna be no more unsupervised sleepovers under my roof.”

 

“Dad!”

 

“And we’re gonna be having another Talk.”

 

“No Joe! Once was enough!”

 

Months later, Mick found himself looking back on that night fondly as he watched his best man tap Barry on the shoulder to cut in for a dance with his daughter. Barry handed over his girlfriend’s hand with a smile and moved to cut in between Lisa and Len, the flower girl having monopolised all her brother’s time on the dance floor.

 

“I hope they make it here,” Caitlin said softly from where her head was resting on Mick’s shoulder. She too was watching the teenagers dance, happy and comfortable just being together. He looked down at his bride, his wife, and took a moment to marvel for the hundredth time that day how this incredible woman had actually agreed to marry him.

 

“They made it this far,” he responded optimistically as they swayed gently to the music. “And they’ll have help.” 

 

A little hand tugged at his suit jacket, and Mick looked down to see Lisa and Jax looking up at them, both utterly adorable in a pale gold dress and a tiny tux. 

 

“Barry said Iris is having a daddy-daughter dance,” Lisa informed them. “Can I have one too?” She held out her little hand to him. At his side, Caitlin gasped, happy tears threatening to spill over.

 

“‘Course you can, princess,” he managed to croak through the unexpected wave of emotions hitting him. Lisa happily led him further into the dance-floor. Jax did a bow and offered his hand to Caitlin, who took it with a sweet little laugh. With his little girl smiling up at him, his wife happily being led by his son around the dance-floor, Mick didn’t think it was possible to be any happier. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw little Wally cut in between Iris and Joe, apparently not wanting to be left out of the parental dances. Iris slipped over to Barry and Len, who happily pulled her into their circle. Mick didn’t think he’d ever seen Len smile as big and bright and open as he was now.

  
He had a strange family, it was true, brought together by an unlikely twist of fate. But they were happy and Mick knew that he would gladly lay his life down to protect any one of them.

**Author's Note:**

> I may or may not have teared up writing the last couple of paragraphs.
> 
> This is basically my AU where everything is good and nothing hurts.


End file.
